Mina Aino
|image = Mina (Uniform) = |-| Sailor V= |-| Sailor Venus = |-| Super Sailor Venus = |-| L&BS = |alias = Princess VenusMoonlight Soldiers: Sailor Venus Sailor "Mina" Moon |birthday = October 22 |age = 14 (Moon through S'') 15 (''SuperS) |zodiac sign = Libra |height = 5'0'' |blood type = B |relatives = Unknown |education = Grass Valley Junior High |weakness = Losing, Show-offs |strength = Relaxing, idolizing others, leadership, volleyball, Sports, dance |hobby = Shopping, arcade formula one racing, playing games |favorite color = Orange |favorite gemstone = Topaz |favorite foods = Pasta, curry, noodles |least favorite food = Shiitake Mushrooms |favorite subject = Physical Education, Gymnastics |least favorite subject = Everything else |favorite sport = All |favorite animal = Birds |dream = to become an idol |scout = Sailor V, Sailor Venus, Super Sailor Venus |affiliation = Inner Sailor Scouts |items = Transformation Pen Tiara Pocket Communicator Transformation Stick Wrist Communicator Transformation Rod |attacks = Venus Crescent Beam Smash! Venus Meteor Shower! Venus Love Chain Encircle! Venus Crescent Beam of Anger! Venus Love and Beauty Shock! |transformations = Venus Power! Venus Star Power! Venus Crystal Power! |creator = Naoko Takeuchi |first appearance = Sailor V Makes the Scene |last appearance = The Sweetest Dream |english voice = Stephanie Morgenstern (Moon; R''; ''The Promise of the Rose; Hearts in Ice; Black Dream Hole) Emilie-Claire Barlow (S''; ''Super S) |japanese voice = Rica Fukami }} Mina Aino (愛野 美奈子 Aino Minako) is the fifth Sailor Scout and a protagonist in Sailor Moon. Mina is a reincarnation of the Princess of Venus and the civilian identity of Sailor Venus. Arguably one of the first of the Sailor Scouts to be discovered by Queen Serenity's cat advisers, Artemis, Mina gained notoriety and fame in the public eye with the superhero identity Sailor V. Unique among her comrades, Sailor Venus uses the power of love and her elemental powers are presumably that of light, metal and iron. Previous Life Princess of Venus Also born 1,000 years ago, Mina was the princess of Venus and a loyal subject of the Moon Kingdom, governed by Queen Serenity. Princess Venus was also a warrior of Venus and was sworn to protect the Princess of the Moon, Serena. When Queen Beryl and the Negaverse invaded the Moon Kingdom, Venus was among many who fought to protect the Kingdom and its royalty. However, she was killed during the battle. Queen Serenity used the Crescent Moon Wand and the Imperium Silver Crystal to seal away the Negaverse and Beryl; using the last of her strength she used the crystal to save Mina and the others so that they could be reborn on Earth. Rebirth On Earth Mina was reborn as a precocious child with an affinity for pop culture. As a child she watched singers perform on stage and imitated their moves; she also took a shine to sports, in particular, volleyball. As she grew, Mina dreamed of becoming a famous singer and idol herself. Not unlike Serena, Mina became a spacey daydreamer with a huge appetite and was somewhat clumsy. Early Scout Career Becoming "Sailor V" At some point in time, Mina was discovered by Artemis, an ally of Luna (who at point was a stray wandering the streets of Tokyo in search of the Moon Princess). Artemis informed her of her destiny as a Sailor Scout and she adopted the mantle of "Sailor V". As Sailor V, Mina wore a red mask and highly modified version of scout outfit. She moved to London, England (presumably with her family) and aided Artemis in the search for the Sailor Moon and the other Sailor scouts. During her time in London, Mina as Sailor V fought off dozens of Negamonsters and thugs who preyed on the innocent. Her reputation as Sailor V became so widespread that she became cultural icon and phenomenon. "Sailor V" became a household name among children and even earned a wildly popular video game and motion picture. When she was old enough, Mina enrolled in junior high school. However, because of her shyness, Mina had trouble making friends. As a result some of the students at her school assumed she was "stuck up" and accused her of trying to mimic Sailor V, unaware of her true identity. Joining the Sailor Scouts ''Sailor Moon'' At some point, Mina returned to Tokyo, Japan. During that time, she presumably continued to search for the Moon Princess and the other Sailor Scouts until Artemis was discovered by Luna at the Central Control console of the Arcade Serena frequented. During Zoycite and Malachite's bid to reclaim the Rainbow Crystals from Tuxedo Mask using a Sailor Moon impostor, Mina arrived in time to save both Tuxedo Mask and the four other Sailor Scouts from their trap. She made her presence known with her voice announcing to Malachite and Zoycite that Tuxedo Mask wasn't handing over anything, and then when they noticed, she added that if they were looking for trouble, it was headed their way. And indeed it was, as she used a Venus Crescent Beam Smash to destroy the dome her future friends were captured in. With all the Sailor Scouts unified against the Negaverse, Mina later met the other Sailor Scouts at the Cherry Hill temple the following day. The Past Revealed When Serena and Darien Shields are captured in the Tokyo tower by Zoycite, Mina and the others fought to save them. However, when Darien is hurt, Serena's identity as the Moon Princess is revealed and the memories of Mina and the other Sailor Scouts. When Darien is taken, Mina and the others promised to help save him. During their search, Mina attempted to help Serena feel better about Darien's disappearance by taking her to a salon. However, during their stay, Mitsuaami, Malachite's Negamonster, mistook her for Sailor Moon and attacked them. Both Serena and Mina defeated the monster. On their way to the Negaverse, Mina was attacked by the three remaining Doom and Gloom Girls while protecting Serena. She destroyed one of them with Venus Crescent Beam Smash, but was captured in the aftermath. Mina was later freed from her prison and returned to give Sailor Moon power to destroy Queen Beryl, and was revived after that, but with no memory of being Sailor Venus. ''Sailor Moon R'' After the first season concludes, Mina's character and personality becomes more goofy, excitable, and overdramatic, as well as a bit ditzy. She is known to misquote proverbs on a regular basis. Doom Tree Arc Mina's memories were restored along with the others by Luna. Together Mina and Raye Hino destroyed Cardian Minotaur. She also combined her attack with Lita Kino to destroy Cardian Nacrid. Against Cardian Vulturos she learned a new technique, "Venus Meteor Shower." Negamoon Arc Against Avery and Prizma's droid, Jellax, Sailor Venus used another new technique called the "Venus Love Chain Encircle". She is often seen fighting Avery. ''Sailor Moon S'' Sailor Venus fought alongside the other Sailor Scouts against the Bureau of Bad Behavior. Mina was the last of the five Sailor Scouts to have her Pure Heart extracted by the Heart Snatchers (and later returned to her). At this time she was disappointed that she was the only Sailor Scout to not be targeted, and thought she didn't have a Pure Heart, and tried to make it so that she did, which got Eugeal's attention. ''Sailor Moon Super S'' When Fish Eye's Remless, Mawashitaro, trapped Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon inside a dome, Sailor Venus, along with the others, had her transformation upgraded by Pegasus, and her attack upgraded into Super Venus Love Chain. She was the second of the Sailor Scouts to be targeted by the Amazon Trio, with Tiger's Eye (disguised as Jack) and Hawk's Eye (disguised as Charlie) competing over who gets to extract her dream mirror. After both looked into it at once, they did not find Pegasus. She used a new technique, Venus Love and Beauty Shock, against the Amazon Quartet. She is often seen fighting Cele Cele. Films ''The Promise of the Rose'' (Sailor Moon R) ''Hearts in Ice'' (Sailor Moon S) ''Black Dream Hole'' (Sailor Moon SuperS) Future Protector of Crystal Tokyo Powers and Abilities Sailor Venus Super Sailor Venus Finishing Moves *'Venus Crescent Beam Smash:' Shoots an light beam at her enemies. *'Venus Meteor Shower:' Shoots multiple light beams. *'Venus Love Chain Encircle:' Uses a heart-shaped chain of energy that can be used as a harness or a whip. This attack was able to scratch Emerald while she was in dragon form. *'Venus Love Control:' A more powerful version of Venus Love Chain Encircle. *'Venus Love and Beauty Shock:' Creates multiple heart-shaped lights that she can combine into one attack. Original Japanese adaptation In the original Japanese anime adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi's manga, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, the character Sailor Venus was named Minako Aino; her first name in the English localization, "Mina", is a shortened version of Minako. In both the English localization and the Japanese dub, Minako shares many character traits with Usagi Tsukino, including clumsiness and perchance for pigging out. Because of this, Minako is commonly compared to Usagi. According Takeuchi, Minako was created before Usagi was created. In the Manga, Minako's similarity to Usagi was used to the advantage of the Senshi. Minako acted as decoy for Usagi and Sailor Moon during her fight with the Dark Kingdom and her search for Princess Serenity. Minako's persona, "Sailor V", has differing origin accounts. In the manga, Codename: Sailor V, a thirteen year old Minako was the first of the Sailor Senshi to be re-discovered and her memories reawakened when she comes across a stray cat named Artemis. She accepts the mission to protect the Earth as Sailor V and fights a sub-division Dark Kingdom, the Dark Agency. She travels to such locales such as Greece and China to thwart their plans. Luna, Artemis and Minako used her Sailor V persona to train Usagi to become Sailor Moon using the Sailor V video game. In Sailor Moon's forty second episode, Sailor Venus' Past! Minako's Tragic Love, Minako instead travels to England where she falls in love with a boy named Alan and fights the youma who've taken a young woman named Katarina hostage. Though Minako struggled over her affections for Alan or dedicating herself to the fight as Sailor V, she eventually chooses to remain faithful to her duty as a Sailor Senshi. Her past in London comes back to haunt her when Katarina is targeted again by the Dark Kingdom and she later revealed her history to Usagi and the other Senshi. However, because that episode was banned in the English dub, it is unknown if it's canon in the English dub. "Sailor Venus' Past! Minako's Tragic Love" was the fourth of six episodes of the first season Sailor Moon that never aired in North America. Minako was voiced by actress Rica Fukami. External Links *Sailor Venus / Mina Profile - Moonlight Soldiers References Category:Sailor Scouts Category:Heart Snatcher targets Category:Dark Moon Circus targets Category:Inner Sailor Scouts Category:Characters